The Case
by AgentOrange8b
Summary: Courtney's established a successful life in Ansville. She's the state's top detective, so naturally she has a very advanced security system in both her home and workplace. Of course, on the night she decides to take a break from work, her office is broken into and all the information on her current case is stolen. All that's left is another ransom note, but this one's different...
1. Chapter 1: A Break

**This will be my first story. I hope it's a lot better than it sounds. Hopefully I'll remember to post new chapters and keep up with the story. Enjoy!**

Courtney Chavis was known all over the state. She was the best investigator Ansville had ever had. Of course, she knew this, and was extremely proud. She also knew that she was hated my many people. She didn't care, though. Why should she? The only thing that scared her was losing her job. She doubted it would ever happen, but anything could happen. After all, she'd once found Duncan attractive. She hated thinking about him, although he rarely came to mind. The only thing she had left of him - of Total Drama, really - was the skull he'd thrown her when she was cheated off in the first season. _Wow,_she thought, _Total Drama happened so long ago. _The season she remembered the most was World Tour, especially the economy class compartment. She couldn't imagine ever flying like that again. Chris still hosted Total Drama, but it was a mystery why anyone wanted to be on the show. _What sane parent would leave their child in the hands of Chris Mclean for an entire summer? _That made her start wondering about the other campers that she had known. She and Bridgette had lost contact a while back. She knew DJ and his mom had a well-known restaurant somewhere in Ansville. The rest of the cast was gone from her life. Except for Duncan.

They saw each other occasionally, although neither spoke to the other. They didn't even acknowledge each other's presence. She hadn't forgotten that he'd cheated on her. Also that sandal. Sure, she knew her comments were a bit excessive, but it had still hurt. Every once in while, she did think back to season one. She'd hated him the moment she laid eyes on him. His appearance made her lift her nose in disgust. She'd be the first to admit that she was a very judgmental person, and her opinion didn't usually change, but somehow, she'd grown to like him. He wasn't even her type, but he'd grown on her anyway.

Now she lived alone in a big house on the edge of town. She had a lot of friends, but she still got lonely every once in a while. Most of her time was consumed by work, though.

Sitting at the desk in her office, Courtney set her pen down and rubbed her cheeks. The case she was on was a difficult one. All she had to work with were ransom notes. Already three robberies and two kidnappings had been committed. She was beginning to think there were multiple people involved. What made it so hard was that the only evidence ever left were notes. Half the time they didn't even make sense. Meeting places were set, but whenever she showed up, no one or thing was there. Sometimes the places named were just made up places. The most she had to go on was that the notes were always signed "Gertrude Dawl." There was no Gertrude in the county, or even the state, so it was obviously a stage name of some sort.

So Courtney was stuck. She thought maybe there was some secret code hidden in the notes, but she didn't find anything. There was no giving up, but it was all staring to stress her out. This had been going on for almost two months.

Someone knocked on her office door. "Come in," she answered. Her best friend and partner, Vera, stepped in and shut the door behind her.

"Hey Court," she said, "I'm going out to MHC right now to meet up with Wendy. I want you to come." Courtney looked at the papers on her desk. She'd taken countless notes and looked over her information at least a dozen times and still come up with nothing.

"I've gotten no where with this. Not one lead. These make no sense! I can't afford to take a break, not now." Vera walked over to Courtney and tried to pull her out of her chair.

"Come on! One night out won't do you any harm. Look at you. You've been cooped up in this office from sun-up to sun-down for the past month."

"I have not!"

"Yes, you have. If you come with me tonight I won't bother you again for the next week."

Courtney sighed and stood. She took a moment to stretch, then turned her lamp off. _If something happens tonight while I'm gone …_ she thought. They left the room and went to the parking garage. "Wait," Courtney stopped walking, "I forgot to lock up."

"Someone else will do it," Vera assured her. Courtney had to resist rolling her eyes.

"Vera, we're the last ones here."

"Oh, yea. I forgot. It'll be fine. It's not like anyone will break in here."

"I'll just be a moment."

"Just leave it! Nothing will happen, I promise."

"How can you promise if you have no idea what'll happen?"

"Seriously, Courtney, you're just being paranoid. Now get in the car."

"Don't tell me what to do."

"Well sorry. Come on, we'll be late. I know how much you hate being late."

Courtney rolled her eyes this time, but got into the car without a word. It took them about twenty minutes to get there. The place was small but quaint. Courtney recognized it as DJ's restaurant. She'd never been before, but she'd seen it in magazines countless times. When they sat down at the table, Courtney ordered her meal and drink at the same time. The food was served rather quickly. About halfway through the meal, a woman walked in. At first Courtney paid her no attention, but then she heard the woman's voice. It was oddly familiar, like the voice had gotten older but still had the same timbre. She looked over to find the woman staring straight at her.

**Who is the mystery person? Any guesses? You'll have to wait and see! Hopefully I'll update soon. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Feeling

**Ok so I actually found time to write the next chapter. I'll go ahead and say that it's not Heather. She comes later in the story, although it may be sooner than I intended. Anyway, enjoy! **

At first Courtney was confused. Did she know this person? They weren't familiar. _Oh wait, _she thought, _is that … _but her thoughts were interrupted when Vera asked her what she was looking at. Courtney turned to Vera and asked, "Do you know that person?"

Vera sighed. "There are at least twenty other people here, Courtney. You'll have to be a bit more specific."

"I meant the one by the … door …"

The woman was gone. "Oh," she said, "never mind." Courtney brushed it off as just a trick of the mind and continued eating and conversing. A while later they paid and left the restaurant. Wendy said she had a meeting early the next morning so she left with her boyfriend.

It was just Courtney and Vera then. The sky was dark and starless. A sudden gust of wind lifted Courtney's coat. Although no one else was in sight, Courtney felt a chill.

"You okay?" asked Vera, noticing her unease.

"Of course," she said, but Vera could tell that her mind was elsewhere. Instead, Courtney was thinking about the case. She wondered if the woman she'd seen had involved. She knew never to jump to conclusions though, and that just because someone looked suspicious didn't mean they were automatically guilty. She thought she'd gotten that 'feeling' that characters in the mystery books she read often got when something bad happened. That was ridiculous, however. Like she'd said before, fear was only in the mind. Everything was fine.

After a while of silence, she decided it was just the cold giving her chills. She was getting paranoid over a case she couldn't solve, nothing more. Things would reveal themselves in time. Vera hadn't said anything in a while. At first Courtney thought she'd been abandoned in the parking lot, but she turned around to find Vera texting. Vera looked up with wide eyes.

"Ready to go now?" she asked. It took her a moment, but Courtney finally answered, "Take me back to the office."

"Lemme guess. You stood with your hair blowing in the wind, received a secret message, had a moment of clarity, and now you have the answers to all of your problems. Courtney I'm not taking you back to that office. You won't discover everything in one night. Come over to my place. We'll have a sleepover like we're kids again. I'll even let you choose the movie," on second thought she added, "as long as it's not a documentary."

Courtney _was_ still pretty strained, and she had to admit the offer was somewhat appealing. She hadn't sat down to relax since the case had begun. But the feeling hadn't gone away, but the more she ignored it the less distressing it came. She remembered the office, and how she'd forgotten to lock up. "Can we just stop by the office so I can lock the doors? I won't be able to sleep unless I do."

"We'll head right to my house afterward, right?"

"Yes. I'll be as quick as I can."

Vera drove Courtney to the office, as promised, and waited outside while Courtney went in. Courtney intended to just step in do what she came to do, but something stopped her from leaving. The feeling was back. The whole scene was like a horror movie: the protagonist standing alone in a dark building at night with aggravating curiosity reeling them toward something dangerous and unknown that only the watcher knows about. There was even the occasional creak or thump. The only thing missing was the eerie music playing in the background. Courtney took a deep breath and started toward the staircase. She didn't dare take the elevator, and while a dank, aphotic stairwell wasn't any more welcoming, she had no other way to reach her room on the second floor. Why she needed to go up there in the first place, she had no clue. She guessed she really just wanted to make sure nothing was wrong.

The door creaked as she opened it. She poked her head in and looked up. _It's only a few flights of stairs, _she told herself. She took a cautious step in and let go of the door. It felt as if the temperature had dropped ten degrees. She jumped when the door banged shut behind her. Normally she could climb these stairs with ease. At that moment it seemed impossible. She thought about the psycho killed with the chainsaw and hook that had showed up on the island during the first season. She sighed and shook her head. There was nothing to be afraid of. She mustered up as much courage as she could and braved the stares. One slow, agonizing step at a time, she made her way to the third floor.

She let out a yelp when something landed on her shoulder. Realizing it was just a drop of water from the hole in the ceiling she'd been meaning to fix, she laughed. It was an uneasy laugh, but it made her feel slightly better. She stood there for a minute and listened. Not hearing anything at all was somehow ten times scarier than small noises. Finally she left the stairwell and entered the hallway. The carpet muffled her steps as she crept down the hall to her office. Her heart raced as she neared her door. "Nothing's in there Courtney. Pull yourself together," she said out loud. Right as she began to turn the door knob, there was a crash from inside.

Courtney stumbled back. Her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it'd jump right out of her chest. She almost laughed, remembering the lyrics to the song Bridgette had sung when her tongue had gotten stuck to the pole in Yukon. **(Look up the song "stuck to a pole" from TDWT if you don't remember it.)** Instead, fear took over. She half expected a masked figure to come out of the room wielding a chain saw, but nothing else happened. She rolled her eyes, upset with herself for scaring so easily. In one swift motion she opened the door and charged into the room ... and saw nothing. _See,_ she thought, _nothing here. _Feeling a bit relieved, Courtney walked to her desk and looked through the folder sitting on top. Everything was there, no missing information. She sighed in relief then began opening drawers to double-check. She sat up, thinking she'd heard the elevator, but everything was just as silent as it had been before. Her mind wandered back to the crash. She still had not idea what had caused it, or even what had made the sound for that matter. Nothing was lying broken on the ground. She didn't think anyone was hiding. She did a quick walk through and checked every possible hiding place in the small room. There weren't many.

Once she was sure everything was okay, Courtney exited the room without looking up from the manila folder she'd decided to bring with her. She half-consciously removed her key from her purse and stuck the key into the key hole. With her hand on the door knob, she stopped moving. She noticed something in one of the notes that she'd missed. She forgot all about double-checking the lock and turned around to go tell Vera, but was stopped when she ran into someone.

**So you still don't know who the mystery person was. Perhaps the person had no purpose in this story and was put there as a red herring (I don't know if I worded that right). Maybe they'll play the biggest part. Heather, Gwen, and Duncan will be introduced in due time. I'll try to enter Heather in the next chapter, but I think it might take one more. I hope you enjoyed reading this. Please review! Maybe even favorite or follow *hint* But really, thank you for taking precious minutes out of your life to read this. In the mean time, I'll be working on the next chapter. Thanks again! **


	3. Chapter 3: Forgetfulness

**Chapter 3 already?! Wow, usually I'd give up on a story by now. I've started all kinds of stories and books and I haven't been able to finish a single one. Also, I don't know how the whole disclaimer thing works, but I don't own Total Drama or its awesome characters. I hope that suffices. Enjoy the chapter.**

Stop a minute and imagine being alone, in a dark building, at night, when everyone should be at home asleep in their beds or whatever it is that they sleep in. It's not the dark you should be scared of. It's what could be waiting in it. Courtney had always told herself she didn't get scared, but that wasn't necessarily true. When she turned and ran into someone in this supposedly empty building, she let out one of the loudest screams Vera had ever heard. Courtney fell backwards and dropped the folder. She'd imagined there would be a mass murderer standing above her with a knife poised to strike when she looked up. Instead, her friend had backed into the wall, just as frightened as she was. There was no knife, no murderer, just a two startled women in a criminal-free hallway, laughing at the absurdity of the moment. Of course there was nothing dangerous.

When they were done laughing, Vera helped Courtney up. "Wow, I'll be honest, I thought you were here to kill me for a moment."

"Why would I want to kill you?"

"Well, I didn't know it was you at first. I heard a crash earlier, but nothing had fallen, so I got a bit spooked."

"Oh, right. It was probably just something in the alley out back. Why'd you come up here, anyway? I thought you were just locking the front doors. What are those?" Vera motion towards the papers spilled out under Courtney's feet.

"Just files," Courtney said defensively.

"Just files? This is supposed to be a night of leisure. Can't you stop working for one minute?"

"I did while we were eating." Courtney bended over and began picking up the papers and putting them back into the folder.

"Oh for goodness sake, Courtney. Give me those." Vera snatched them out of Courtney's hand and slid them under the door.

"Hey!" Courtney tried opening the door, but was reminded that she'd locked it minutes ago. Vera was already walking away with her keys. Courtney chased her down the stairs and out to Vera's car. They argued for quite a while longer, but eventually got tired and left to go to Vera's house. The office was still left unlocked, and Courtney had long forgotten her discovery. That would prove to be one of the biggest mistakes of her career.

**Okay so I know this was a rather short chapter, and it kind of sucked, but it's late, and I'm tired, and I can't just stop in the middle of a chapter and come back to it later. I'll have lost my train of thought by then. So I just decided to stop it there. I felt like Max-Earnest from the Secret Series with my lame attempt at humor in the last chapter. I hadn't even done it on purpose. Anyway, I'll just give a thanks to a wonderful supporter of mine, The Loved And Unloved. Review really are encouraging. Please leave one, even if it is just constructive (or not) criticism. I value all opinions. Thanks everyone for reading this. I'll make the next chapter longer for sure. Ciao! **


	4. Note

**This is not another chapter, just a quick note. I've been working on the next chapter, but I can't seem to get it right, so it'll be a little while longer. I'll try to get it posted as soon as I can. Thank you to all who've read my story. I'll start making my chapters longer; 1,000 words isn't enough. Anyway, sorry that this is just a note. I know I hate it when authors of the stories I read take a long time to update, but I know we all have things to do. I probably won't finish the whole story by the time school starts. Either way, I'm doing what I can to get it done. That's it. I'll try to update by Friday, but I'm not making any promises. Thanks again, bye.**


	5. Chapter 4: Ice-Cream

**The fourth chapter is finally here! I'm a bit disappointed with only so many reviews, but I'll go on. I'm getting a bit tired of this story anyway, even though I haven't even gotten to the main plot yet. Oh well. I'll just see how it goes from now and decide later whether to go all the way or not. Some more reviews would be nice. Enjoy the chapter, leave some feedback or whatever.**

**Actually, before I start, I'll just say sorry for the long wait. I got a bit caught up in reading fanfictions and I forgot to update. I made this chapter a lot longer, so I hope it's good. It took me quite a while. So R&R and thanx for reading.**

In the car, Courtney rested her head against the window, listening to the radio spew bad pop music. Vera hummed along to a few songs, but for the most part they were both silent. They weren't mad at each other, at least not to an extent. Vera was still slightly upset at Courtney's lie, and Courtney was upset about the small something she'd forgotten and couldn't seem to remember, so she blamed Vera for distracting her, but that wasn't the reason they didn't speak to each other. It was just something they did. Talking wasn't a necessity, and they liked to enjoy car-rides in peace. Nothing wrong with a little quiet time. Vera lived far from the building in which they worked, and eventually the music became too annoying, so Vera turned the radio off. A little while longer, she had the urge to speak.

"Hey Courtney," Vera said. She waited for a response, and after one dragged out minute and a loud sigh, Courtney spoke. "Yeah?"

Vera opened her mouth, the realized she didn't really have anything to say. "Today was nice, wasn't it … I finally got you out of that prison you call work," she paused to chuckle, but continued talking when Courtney didn't join in. "So … what are you thinking about?"

Courtney was hesitant to answer, noticing she hadn't really been thinking about anything. "Uh … I don't know, nothing, I guess. You?"

The Conversation wasn't exactly going how Vera had expected, but then again, there wasn't a certain way she wanted it to go. She guessed she had thought Courtney would say she was thinking about the impossible case she had been assigned to, or something else work related. "Can we stop for ice-cream? At that parlor by the convenience store? Last time we went there I liked it. I still remember hot fudge sundae guy."

"What? Ohh, that guy. I'm pretty sure he got fired. Something about getting too many orders wrong."

"He served me strawberry on a waffle cone when I clearly asked for vanilla in a small cup. How can you mix up and order that badly? He's probably some high school dropout. How else would he have gotten such a pathetic job?"

"There are … ways. Maybe he's always lived a poor lifestyle. Money is money, not matter how it's acquired."

Courtney glanced at Vera in disbelief. "Since when were you sympathetic towards total strangers. Don't tell me you took a liking to him."

"Of course not." Vera scoffed.

"The parlor is about 10 minutes from your house, right," asked Courtney.

"I believe so. It's coming up around this corner." A small plaza came into view. There were only five small shops including the ice-cream parlor, as well as a gas station. Vera stopped to get gas first, then they both hopped out and walked into the parlor. Courtney squinted in the unusually bright lights flooding the small building. _I don't know if it's just that I've been in the dark for the last hour, but this place seems a lot brighter than last time,_ thought Courtney. The first thing she noticed was the new cashier. It was a girl about their age. Her back was turned to the counter, and she was rummaging through something. She had short, black and teal hair, a style Courtney immediately recognized. When the girl turned around, she began her usual introduction, but stopped short when she met Courtney's eyes. Neither of them said a word; Vera didn't dare speak, though she had no idea what was going on.

Except for the fact that she'd aged some and was wearing the parlor's traditional green tee, Gwen looked the same. Vera finally decided to risk jumping into the moment by saying "Hello." She wasn't acknowledged, but it seemed to jar Courtney and Gwen from their spell. Gwen took a deep breath and tried her introduction again.

"Hi, welcome to Zack's, what can I get you?"

Courtney still wasn't speaking, so Vera went first. "Um, a small cup of butter pecan will do." Gwen punched in the order and looked expectantly at Courtney, but Courtney seemed far off. Vera went ahead and ordered for her. "Just a small cup of vanilla."

"Will that be it?" _Even her voice sounds the same,_ thought Courtney. Vera nodded and removed her wallet from her bag. Finding her voice again, Courtney put a hand over Vera's wallet. "I'll pay. You already bought me dinner."

Vera would've protested, but because there was no arguing with Courtney, she just nodded and thanked her. Gwen went to work preparing their ice cream.

Seated at a booth in the far corner of the store, Courtney picked up the plastic place setting and held it to the side of her face conspiratorially. Vera gave her an odd look but didn't say anything. She thought she recognized the girl at the counter, but she wasn't quite sure. Maybe it was an old friend of Courtney's? No, she didn't think so. If that were the case, surely the reception would've been a lot more warm and welcoming. Vera's thoughts were interrupted by Courtney's voice.

"Did you see the bag she was rummaging through," Courtney whispered while watching Gwen struggle with the ice-cream scoop.

Ignoring her question, Vera asked, "Who is she?"

"That's beside the point. I've got that exact same bag at home."

"So? Plenty of people buy Louis Vuitton."

"No, I mean … that bag was the _exact_ same one I have, or had, back at home."

"How would you know? Maybe she has one of her own. You couldn't tell one apart. They all look the same. Plus, there's no way anyone would be able to get through your security unless they knew the house inside and out."

"She couldn't afford a Speedy East West. Just look at her. She's working at a cheap ice-cream parlor."

"Hey, I happen to love this place. And what if she just does this as a side job? You know, to raise money for charity or something?"

"Highly doubt it. She's just like that pig."

"What?"

"Nothing. Look, I know it's mine. I can tell by the spot near the bottom. I marked it so that'd I'd be able to tell it apart from others."

"Oh yea? Show me."

"I can't show you when she's right there."

"Why's she taking so long, anyway?"

"She's probably poisoning it."

"What do you have against her? I still don't even know who she is."

"I have nothing against her. She just looks suspicious."

"Like I'm supposed to believe that."

"Sorry that took so long. I was having some … problems scooping the ice-cream." Gwen appeared at the end of their table holding two cups of ice cream. Both Vera and Courtney were startled by her silent approach.

"Thanks," said Vera, taking her bowl from Gwen. Since Courtney didn't take hers, only stared at Gwen, Vera grabbed it and set it down in front of Courtney. Gwen hesitated before turning away and walking back to the front of the building.

"Notice how she hesitated before stating a reason for taking a long time," Courtney said to Vera once Gwen was out of earshot. Vera knew better than to roll her eyes at Courtney. "So? Just tell me who the chic is."

"I don't know who she is. Like I told you, she looks suspicious. And has my bag." Vera could only sigh and pick up her spoon, but just as she was about to raise it to her mouth, Courtney slapped it out of her hand. "Don't eat that! You don't know what she could've done to it!"

"Courtney!" Vera shouted, not caring whether the girl heard of not. After all, if Courtney really didn't know her, it wouldn't matter. "This whole case you've been assigned to is making you crazy and delusional! You're jumping at every little sound as if the killer called you and asked what your favorite scary movie was! This is not a fucking scream movie! You're not going to die! Calm down and just breathe! Stop being so paranoid! This ice-cream is fine!" To prove her point, Vera picked up Courtney's spoon out of its bowl, causing ice cream to fly about, and took a bite. "See? Nothing happened. Nothing is wrong." Out of breath, Vera sat back down, just realizing she'd been standing. At first there was no reaction. Courtney only stared down at her turquoise shirt with wide eyes. Vera narrowed hers. What was she looking at? Then she saw it. A microscopic white dot of vanilla ice cream sat just above her breast pocket, visible only to someone who'd been around Courtney enough to see the tiniest details only Courtney would notice. Even then there were things only Courtney could see. Courtney's eyes began to water. "You … you've ruined my shirt."

"Courtney," Vera began, steeling herself, "it's just a dot of ice-cream. It'll wash right out."

"Wash right out? How can you say that? Do you know how long it took me to acquire this shirt? I waited months just to order it, and then there was some mix up and I had to pay an extra twenty for no damn reason! This is entirely unacceptable!" With no further words, Courtney took her spoon and flung it at Vera. Most of the half-melted ice-cream got into her hair.

"Why the hell did you do that?! I just got it done yesterday!" And just like that, an all out ice-cream war started between the girls, which escalated to chairs being used as ammo, and when they ran out of seats, they went straight to the counter and scooped from the source. So caught up in their fighting, neither one noticed Gwen's absence.

In the dark alley behind the plaza's shops, a pale girl in a green shirt pulled a cell phone from her pocket. She dialed a number from memory and lifted the phone to her right ear. After a few rings the receiver picked up. The girl pressed end and dialed the number again. This time some one answered.

"What is it this time?" said the voice.

"I thought you said she would be working at this hour."

"She is, as far as I know."

"Tell me then why she just showed up at the parlor."

"Parlor?"

"It's where I work, remember. If you even know what the word means."

"Don't get smart with me. So why are you calling again?"

"Courtney's here, dammit! She didn't notice me leave the building, but she definitely saw her bag."

"Why do you have the bag with you, idiot? How stupid could you be? I told you not to flash it around in public. Do you know what people would think if they saw a girl like you with such an expensive, not to mention high class purse like that?"

"A girl like me? Sometimes I wonder if you're really helping me. And besides, I didn't think anyone would be here this late. I was about to close up shop."

"Of course I'm helping you, darling. Everything's going according to plan. Just play along. It'll save your sorry ass in the future."

"According to plan? Why wasn't I told she'd be visiting? And why was that girl with her?"

"Terra? She told me she had a dinner date tonight."

"You know your plans would be a lot more successful if you informed your "assistants" about them in detail."

"I guess you really don't want my help. I could hang up this phone right now."

"Ok fine, whatever. At least tell me what the bag is for."

"Oh that? Just a little consolation prize. Being the bad guy isn't all that easy, you know. How else would I be rewarded for my work?"

"You had me break into her house and risk getting chopped to bits by some ridiculous security system so you could get a bag?"

"Sure. I couldn't very well go and ask her for it."

Gwen hung up on the person.

Courtney stood facing Vera, panting, spoon in hand, poised to throw, but neither of them felt like flinging ice cream around any longer. Her shirt was the least of her concerns then. How much would they be charged for damage? Tables were overturned, chair legs broken, sherbet and chocolate painted the walls, and there was even a broken light. They'd done a number on the place. Gwen walked back in and gasped when she saw the mess. Looks like she'd be there longer than she'd planned. Vera looked around the room, taking in the scene. "How about we go wash up in the back," she suggested to Courtney.

In the small bathroom, they did the best they could to wash their faces and arms, but there wasn't much they could do about their hair or clothes. When they were about to leave the parlor, Vera stopped and told Courtney she'd left her necklace in the bathroom, and to go out to the car without her. Courtney did, but only when she got there did she realize that Vera hadn't been wearing a necklace that evening. _Maybe it was hidden under her shirt, _Courtney reasoned, but it wasn't a very reassuring explanation. Her shirt was low enough to where you would've been able to see the chain of a necklace.

So lost in thought, Courtney didn't notice Vera until she'd opened the car door and jumped into her seat. "Sorry that took so long. None of the stalls had tissue so I had to go find some in the supply closet. I didn't want to bother .. Miranda." Had she just said Miranda? Courtney was confused.

"You said you went to get your necklace. And how do you know her name? You said you didn't recognize her earlier."

"Oh, right. I did loose the necklace. It took me a while to find it, then after that I had to use the bathroom. Also her name was on her name tag. All employees have one, you know." _But she wasn't wearing a name tag, _thought Courtney. Her friend was definitely hiding something, but she didn't push it. She was ready to get to Vera's house so she could wash the ice-cream out of her hair and change her clothes.

"Do you mind me dropping you off at your house instead of going to mine? I really don't think I'll be able to stay up for a movie."

"Oh … that's fine. I really just wanna take a hot shower."

"Great. Let's get going then. It's really late. Hopefully I don't fall asleep on the wheel." Courtney offered to drive, but Vera said she'd be okay. No words were exchanged, and Courtney was dropped off in front of her house 30 minutes later. Before going inside, Courtney pressed a button on her key chain to temporarily disable her alarms and security systems, but oddly, the blue light that usually flashed from the front window signifying it was safe to enter didn't go off. The only thing that could mean was that the alarms had been shut off. But by who? She was the only one who knew how to do that, and maybe Vera had seen her do it enough times to know, but she'd been with her the whole evening, and besides her, there wasn't another soul who'd be able to complete the complicated steps to shutting off her security. Unless she had a stalker. Was her phone bugged? She told herself she'd get it replaced the next day. She looked around to see if she could see anyone watching her. It was all dark at first, but then she saw movement in the corner of her eye.

Without stopping to check if it was only her imagination, she pressed another button on her key chain to open up her garage. Although it'd surely make enough noise to scare away whoever was out there – if there even was anyone – Courtney didn't hesitate to pull out the bike she kept. She didn't stop to pull on her helmet, just jumped on and revved the engine. She tore out of her driveway at full speed down the road to the spot where she'd supposedly seen something. A body staggered into view, giving Courtney barely enough time to swerve out of the way, narrowly missing the person. In her attempts to avoid killing someone, Courtney was thrown off her bike. Luckily she fell into the grass, but when she tried to get up, she slipped and hit her head on the ground. Hard.

Courtney woke up in a white room. She definitely wasn't at her house. She'd only just realized she was at a hospital when a nurse walked in holding a clipboard. "What … what happened," she mumbled to the woman.

"Oh, darling you're up. Great. Stay put, I'll be right back." The woman left the room just as soon as she'd entered. Courtney sat up, but as soon as she did she had to lie back down. Her head throbbed like crazy. The nurse returned soon with a doctor and a glass of water. Courtney drank some then answered the doctor as he asked her basic math problems and simple facts about Canada. When he was done, he gave her some painkillers and told her to rest. She didn't seem to have had a concussion, so they'd let her out the next morning after a few tests were run.

Before the nurse could leave, Courtney stopped her. "Yes dear?" the nurse asked, walking over to Courtney's bed.

"I'd like to know who brought me here."

"Oh. I believe it was a young man. I didn't see his face, but his green hair did stand out quite a bit. I assumed he was your boyfriend."

_Anything but, _Courtney wanted to say. The nurse continued. "He hardly said a word, just enough to let us know you'd taken a bad fall. You're lucky he was there to help. There was a nasty cut on the back of your head."

Courtney finally noticed she had a bandage wrapped around her head.

"Seven stitches," said the nurse. Courtney wondered why they were letting her out so early if she'd hit her head so hard she'd needed stitches, but it wasn't like she wanted to stay there longer than necessary; She had work to get back to. The nurse told her to get some rest, so she closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep, but she suddenly remembered the big discovery she'd made. The way the D's were written on the notes was extremely familiar. But now that she thought about it, there was no way what she'd thought could be true. Still, she pondered the situation a bit longer, and eventually fell into a deep sleep, and dreamed about her days on the island.

The next morning, Courtney woke up to Vera's voice. She opened her eyes and saw her friend talking to a different nurse by the door. When they realized she was awake, Vera ran over to Courtney and smothered her in a giant hug.

(**A/N: I won't go through the details of their morning, but basically Vera was glad to see she was okay after receiving a call the other night from Courtney's phone that she was in the hospital. They were all happy and stuff then Courtney was let out with clear instructions on how to replace her bandages every now and then. Not much to tell, so I'll skip to the part where they're leaving the hospital.)**

Courtney and Vera exited the hospital at around 12 p.m. It was raining outside, so Vera went to get her car and pulled up to the front so Courtney could get in. She was bombarded by questions from Vera the whole time. Courtney had to yell to capture Vera's attention for enough time to ask her to go to the office. Vera took her there, then asked how she was getting home.

"Home?" Courtney looked at Vera like she had antlers growing from her head. "I have work today. Why would I go home?"

"Courtney, you were just hospitalized. No one will expect you to show up to work for at least another two days."

"They all know what happened?"

"Yea. Apparently the hospital called your boss this morning and informed him of the situation. I thought you wanted me to take you here to get your car. But then how would I take you home? You don't need to be driving on your own."

"Don't you have work? And I'm fine. I can work today like any other day. I don't like people thinking I'm disabled."

"They don't Courtney, trust me. But that doesn't mean you don't need some time off to rest."

"I'm perfectly capable of doing my job. You can't stop me."

"I'll have your boss suspend you from work if that's what it takes. You're going home and that's that."

Courtney was a too tired to argue much, so after a moment of silence, she said, "Fine, but I get to drive myself home. You still have to work today."

"Courtney. You don't need to be driving. What if you pass out over the wheel?"

"I won't. Now shut up and let me get my car."

Vera shook her head then drove into the parking garage. The space next to Courtney's car was unoccupied, so Vera parked there. Luckily, Courtney had kept her purse with her, and the man that had brought her to the hospital was kind enough take it with him when he brought her, so she still had her car keys. When Vera was sure Courtney was set, she promised to stop by later, then left to go to the elevator. Courtney took her time pulling out of her parking space and exiting the garage. The rain had let up and the sun broke through the clouds. It became a gorgeous day. When Courtney reached her house, she pulled into her garage and got out of the car.

Inside her house, she breathed in the familiar scent of home. The first thing she did was head upstairs to her room to take a hot shower, and just because she had time, she took a long bubble bath after the shower. Feeling relaxed and tranquil, Courtney curled up in her sheets and took a nap.

Later on at about 5:30 p.m., Courtney was awoken by the sound of her phone ringing. She picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hey Court, it's me. Just giving you a heads up. I just got off work and I'm on my way now. I'm going to stop at the store first, actually, to pick up some groceries. I'm making us dinner. Don't protest. I'm just doing it out of the kindness of my heart. Can't a friend do something nice once in a while?"

"You just bought me dinner yesterday, remember?"

"Yes, but then you paid for our ice cream."

"I'll give you money back for the groceries later.

"No, it's fine. Just let me do this and I'll never buy you anything ever again … unless it's a gift. Like for Christmas or something."

"Sure, whatever. You know I'll just slip the money into your purse while you're not looking."

"And you know I'll just put it in your dresser while _you're _not looking."

"I was wondering where that money was coming from."

"Oops, wasn't supposed to tell you that."

"Okay, well if you're coming over, I need to get ready."

"Fine. I can see I'm not wanted."

"Really Vera?"

Vera laughed. "I'm only kidding. So I'll see you later. Don't die on me. Bye."

"Trust me, I won't. Bye."

Courtney hung up and rolled out of bed. It didn't take her long to freshen up. It may have seemed a bit strange for her to dress up when it was only her best friend coming over, but that was just how Courtney was.

At 6:15, Vera rang the doorbell. Courtney walked down the stairs to get the door, passing her open coat closet on the way. She kept all of her coats there, naturally, as well as her handbags and travel bags. On the hook where it'd always been, her Louis Vuitton Speedy East West hung, untouched.

**That was all I could write. I didn't make it to 5000 words like I'd hoped, but I did get to about 4000. This was definitely a longer chapter. Sorry for any mistakes. I revised it the best I could, but I got a little lazy towards the end. Thanks for reading! ~Ciao **


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